Adjustable cushion



D. H. MITCHELL 3,350,727

ADJUSTABLE CUSHION Nov. 7, 1967 Filed Dec. 15, 1965 3,350,727 ADJUSTABLE CUSHION Donald Herbert Mitchell, S. Main St., Pittsfield, NH. 03263 Filed Dec. 13, 1965, Ser..No. 513,329 7 Claims. (Cl. --345) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An adjustable cushion made up of an open ended frame, a cover across one end, a support near the other end movable perpendicular to the cover, cushioning material between the cover and the support, outwardly notched pairs of brackets connected to the front and back of'the frame extending away from the cover, hanger bars extending under the support and through a set of the bracket notches, and a tension spring connecting the bars, so that movement of the bars and support to another set of notches will vary the compression, and hence the firmness, of the cushioning material.

This invention relates to an adjustable cushion and more particularly to a cushion in which the firmness can readily be changed.

A principal object of this invention is to provide a cushion in which firmness is adjustable to suit individual taste. Another object of this invention is to provide such a cushion in which the cushioning material may be easily exposed for replacement, repair or supplementation. Still a further object of this invention is to provide such a cushion which is of simple construction and hence simple to adjust and inexpensive to manufacture.

The invention features a frame, a flexible cover fastened across the frame, a support extending across and moveable relative to the frame, cushioning material in the frame between the cover and support, brackets in the frame extending away from the cover and having a plurality of recessed support positions, hanger means extending from the support to the brackets adapted for positioning in the support positions and for selectively retaining the support at a predetermined level of the support positions, whereby on movement of the hanger means and support to another level of the support positions, the compression and hence the firmness of the cushioning material may be adjusted as desired. In preferred embodiments, the frame has spaced, parallel front and back frame ele ments connected by a pair of spaced side elements. The brackets comprise pairs of transversely aligned brackets, each pair having a plurality of sets of outwardly facing, transversely aligned notches extending away from the cover, attached on each of the front and back elements, adjacent the side elements. The hanger means are a pair of bars, each bar transversely extending under the support to one set of aligned notches of one of the pairs of brackets, and a tension spring interconnects the bars.

Other objects, features and advantages of this invention will appear to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment thereof together with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is an elevation of a chair embodying this invention;

FIG. 2 is a section along the line 22 of FIG. 1 omitting the cushioning material;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged, fragmentary section along the line 33 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a section along the line 44 of FIG. 3; and

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary exploded isometric view of elements of this invention.

3,350,727 Patented Nov. 7, 1967 Chair 10 in FIG. 1 includes a seat cushion 12 adjustable in accordance with the invention. Cushion 12 is also adjustable for seat depth by means of slots 14 in cushion frame'20 and fasteners 16 extending from chair frame 18 through slots 14, FIGS. 1 and 2. This latter feature is no part of the present invention, however, and will not be further described.

Frame 20 includes spaced, parallel front and back frame elements 22, 24 and connecting sideframe elements 26, 28. A flexible cover 30 extends across the upper portion of frame 20 and'is fastened thereto. Within frame 20 underlying cover 30is positioned cushioning material 32 of any desired resilient composition. Underlying material 32 and extending thereacross at the lower portion of and within frame 20 is a support member 34 which may be plywood or some other suitable material, FIGS. 3 and 4.

To provide for adjustment of firmness, support member 34 is suspended from brackets 40 which are connected by fasteners 42 in two parallel pairs from frame 20 at the sides of support member 34. Recesses 36, FIG. 5, in the corners of support member 34 are provided to accommodate brackets 40 and guide plates 38 are also provided to positively locate brackets 40 relative to support member 34. Each pair of brackets 40 has a plurality of outwardly facing transversely aligned notches 44 positioned between cover 30 and member 34.

Transverse hanger bars 46 under support member 34 are positioned in the notches 44 cooperating therewith to hold member 34 in one of the notched positions of brackets 40. Bars 40 are interconnected and held firmly in notches 44 by tension spring 48.

To adjust the cushion thus described, it is only necessary to remove bars 46 from one set of notches 44 of brackets 40 and move the bars 46 together with support member 34 to another of the sets of notches thus compressing or relieving the cushioning material 32 between support member 34 and cover 30. To gain access to the cushioning material 32, one simply inverts the cushion, removes bars 46 from notches 44 and lifts off member 34.

Other embodiments of this invention will occur to those skilled in the art which are within the spirit and scope of the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. An adjustable cushion comprising:

a frame;

a flexible cover fastened across said frame;

a support extending across said frame movable relative thereto;

cushioning material in said frame between said cover and said support;

bracket means in said frame extending away from said cover and having a plurality of recessed support positions therealong;

hanger means extending from said support to said bracket means adapted for positioning in said support positions and for selectively retaining said support at a predetermined level of said support positions;

whereby on movement of said hanger means and support to another level of said support positions, the compression and hence the firmness of said cushioning material may be adjusted as desired.

2. The cushion claimed in claim 1 in which said support positions comprise a plurality of notches adapted to receive said hanger means.

3. The cushion claimed in claim 2 in which said bracket means comprise pairs of brackets, each. pair of which has its notches transversely aligned.

4. The cushion claimed in claim 3 in which said hanger means comprises bars transversely extending to said transversely aligned notches.

5. The cushion claimed in claim 4 in which one said bar extends transversely under said support to the aligned notches of each pair of said brackets.

6. The cushion claimed in claim 5 in which said notches face outwardly and a tension spring is provided interconnecting said bars.

.7. An adjustable cushion comprising:

a frame having spaced, parallel front and back frame elements connected by a pair of spaced side elements;

a flexible cover fastened across said frame;

a support extending across said frame movable relative thereto;

cushioning material in said frame between said cover and said support;

a pair of transversely aligned brackets attached on each of said front and back elements, said brackets of each pair being positioned, one adjacent each of said side elements, each pair of said brackets having a plurality of sets of outwardly facing, transversely aligned notches extending away from said cover; a pair of hanger bars, each said bar transversely extending under said support to one set of said aligned 5 notches of one of said aligned pairs of brackets; and

a tension spring interconnecting said bars; whereby on movement of said bars and support to another set of said notches, the compression and hence the firmness of said cushioning material may be ad- 10 justed as desired.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 7/1951 Mars et a1. 5l1 10/1964 Janapol 5239 

1. AN ADJUSTABLE CUSHION COMPRISING: A FRAME; A FLEXIBLE COVER FASTENED ACROSS SAID FRAME; A SUPPORT EXTENDING ACROSS SAID FRAME MOVABLE RELATIVE THERETO; CUSHIONING MATERIAL IN SAID FRAME BETWEEN SAID COVER AND SAID SUPPORT; BRACKET MEANS IN SAID FRAME EXTENDING AWAY FROM SAID COVER AND HAVING A PLURALITY OF RECESSED SUPPORT POSITIONS THEREALONG; HANGER MEANS EXTENDING FROM SAID SUPPORT TO SAID BRACKET MEANS ADAPTED FOR POSITIONING IN SAID SUPPORT POSITIONS AND FOR SELECTIVELY RETAINING SAID SUPPORT AT A PREDETERMINED LEVEL OF SAID SUPPORT POSITIONS; WHEREBY ON MOVEMENT OF SAID HANGER MEANS AND SUPPORT TO ANOTHER LEVEL OF SAID SUPPORT POSITIONS, THE COMPRESSION AND HENCE THE FIRMNESS OF SAID CUSHIONING MATERIAL MAY BE ADJUSTED AD DESIRED. 